Father and Son
by tigerlilycorinne
Summary: Benny's rich, drunk, abusive dad finds Benny, Kevin defends. Yaay. It's pretty short, and IT IS NOT SLASH IT IS A FATHER AND SON SHIP. I must make that very clear.
1. Washington Heights

-Karl's POV-

I heard _he_ was up around Washington Heights, or at least that's what this guy who used to work for some cab company over there told me.

Apparently, this guys worked the boss as _he_ did, before they sold the company to pay for for their daughter's college tuition.

I had to give them credit- bold move but right right move. Education comes first. It hurt to know _he_ wasn't following the same path this daughter was. I had it all planned out. _He_ just had to skip out, leave me, and now that I knew where he was, _damn he_ was going to pay.

"Are you sure you want to go all the way over there just because he _might_ be in Washington Heights?" A college asked me skeptically, as if it was his business at all, picking at his salad.

I responded with a smile so fake it beat plastic at its own game. "Are you sure you want to keep asking me about this? This douche just up and leaves and never gets his comeuppance? I am going to _be_ his comeuppance."

The guy shrugged, "Man, I'm telling you, that place is a total slum from what I've heard. Crawling with immigrants and hence full of crime. _You_ are going _there?_ "

I had heard the same things, but I wasn't about to admit that. "I didn't raise him to live among such disgusting company."

"Then he's probably not there. Why are you-"

"Because it's my only lead!" I growled impatiently. "I have to teach him what's right and wrong. Living with such _poor folk_ is _wrong_. We are above those poor folk." I sneered at the idea of uneducated idiots trying to boss around _him_. _He_ better now have bowed down to them.

"Just saying, jeez," The college replied, holding his hands up defensively at my tone and abrupt reply. "A black man like you gets as successful as you and then you head for the hood? People are just going to figure you got business there, issues there, _dealings_ there, you know? No black guy could possibly be a normal guy- _oh but what about him?_ \- nah, he's leaving for the hood tomorrow- _oh, I see._ "

I rolled my eyes with obvious contempt as I waited out his play acting before inquiring harshly, "Why is this your business? All I asked you to lunch for is to cover me while I miss a couple days of work. Goddamn."

I signalled for the check as I wrapped the rest of my club sandwich in a napkin and tossed the plastic topped toothpick into the tray.

My college ran his fingers through his short blonde hair and sighed, clearly exasperated with our entire conversation. So was I.

"Fine, I'll do that. And don't take too long, I don't know how many days I can cover." He fixed his tie as if he would be able to convince them I wasn't coding their software for a good reason if he had a straighter tie.

"You better cover as long I'm gone. That's what friends do. You know my position pays too much for me to lose a day of work." Which basically meant I got paint so much a day would be quite a los. Not that I was some poor bastard who needed money. Ask my butler if I need money. Or my maid. Or my cook.

"You let me know if you find okay?" He probably believed me when I said _friend_. Trying to act like he liked me. I knew he didn't like me, we were just colleges. Polite idiot.

"Why would I do that?" The soft ringing of the bell marked the end of the conversation as I exited the posh sandwich shop and stepped into my waiting car, the chauffeur driving me home as I planned my short trip.

 _Washington Heights, here I come._


	2. After the Play

-Benny's POV-

Benny still remembers The Day.

The Day he decided to leave.

The Day he knew that a future without a higher education and without his father was better than a life with both of them.

The Day when he understood the package wasn't worth it.

The Day he started himself over. Built himself again. He told himself it was a New Day, a New Life. And a New Him. And it is. Mostly. He decided he'd never go back and he hasn't.

His mind doesn't either, mostly. Mostly hye keeps himself in life two. He rarely thinks of his past life anymore.

But he still remembers The Day.

He is still afraid. What if he grows up to be like his father? It scares him a lot now, it had ever since that night at the club. The similarities were horrifying.

He got so drunk, he almost slurred his words.

He started a goddamn fistfight!

He let his hurt out by drinking and by verbally wounding people who didn't deserve it.

He smiles now, thinking of Nina. Sweet, beautiful, proud, kind, and so, so _smart_. He knows how lucky he is that Nina likes him back. He knows he doesn't deserve her. He knows her happiness is literally the most important thing in the universe.

She understood. That he was sorry, that he didn't mean it. She understood that _he_ understood that he made a mistake.

Nobody thought much of him, really. They thought he was just this black guy in the Latin neighborhood. Who hung out with Usnavi. When he got drunk, insulted his girl and got into a fight no one blinked an eye except the few who knew him. He flips through his newspaper, reading another shooting. Another unarmed black man shot. They probably shrugged and said _it's what black people do._

Which really isn't true. But at least no one blamed it on his father. No one needs to know about his father.

He hasn't even told Nina. Even though she wouldn't care. Even though she would understand that a person shouldn't be judged by their parents, but by themselves. Even though she wouldn't tell Kevin unless  
Benny okayed it.

 _Kevin_.

He was a whole other thing. Benny has tried his whole second life to impress Kevin. To get approval from kevin. To be accepted by kevin. He just wants to be told he's worth something.

He knows he is, he just needs to hear it. _Hey, benny, you're not a waste of space._ Really, was it so hard to say? He smiles as he reads about the protest the killing sparked.

Benny figured, no, it wasn't, especially when Kevin made his day- no year- well, his whole life, first and second by telling him he was family.

To finally be part of a family. It was heaven for the approximately 24 hours… until he found out it was a fucking lie. His smile fades remembering this. He can't stop thinking about it!

Kevin didn't value him more than is job, more than is shitty attempts at Spanish.

Without Camila, Benny wouldn't even be allowed to keep seeing Nina, to even smile at the love of his life.

At this point, Benny figures Kevin's family is very different from Kevin.

Kevin's standards are higher. His principles are set in stone. For a smile, you have to earn it, unless you're Nina.

Nina still feels his pressure to be perfect, but Benny thinks that's so much better than for Kevin to not even expect you to exceed, to do well.

At this point, Benny knows that Kevin doesn't put expectation on his shoulders because kevin doesn't expect him to succeed. He doesn't think Benny can.

Benny's response to this is a fire of determination, to prove him wrong, to earn Nina, to deserve her, show his father, to earn  
Kevin's approval. To deserve his approval.

But at this point, Benny also has a tiny voice of doubt that agrees with kevin.

He may be successful, and independant and run his own business. Benny pulls out his wallet and marvels at its thickness as he mindlessly teases Usnavi about that second date as he counts out change for the newspaper.

He may be richer. But at this point, Benny thinks maybe he'll never be enough.

At this point, deep down, Benny has given up.

-Kevin's POV-

Kevin blinks his eyes. Why do they keep closing? Why is he so tired at this time of day? He feels likes something is missing but why would that make him _tired?_

"Aye, you look terrible!" his wife exclaims. "Where's your coffee?"

Ah, that's it. His coffee. He hasn't gotten his coffee yet. Benny hasn't- well, Benny doesn't work for him anymore. That's what's missing.

"I haven't gone to get it yet." kevin mumbles, reluctant to admit how used to being catered to he's become.

Camila reads right through him. "Ha, you've forgotten. Serves you right. Never know you love him 'till you let him go, _si?_ " She shakes a finger at household as he looks back at his work.

"Camila," he says warningly.

She nudges his shoulder. "You never knew how good he was for you, mmm? He thought you were the best."

"He had terrible Spanish." Kevin knows how good Benny was to him. He loved Benny like a son. He still does. But he can't tell anyone that.

What if he told Benny? Benny might take advantage of that. Get money out of Kevin, or people could see Kevin had a soft spot and weasel money out of him. Kevin likes his money. He keeps a gruff exterior so people can't persuade him to give them more than they deserve. Kevin has to pay for Nina's college.

He will not fail to be a father, not like his father. He'll do whatever it takes he'll make a million mistakes, he'll make the world safe and sound for her.

Which means he absolutely _cannot_ go up to Benny and tell him how great he is and that he misses him and that he's such a good worker. He can't tell him that deep down, he's glad Camila forced him to give Nina up because if he didn't have to be uptight he would have given his blessing in an instant.

"But he tried _so hard_ to learn!" Camila refutes, echoing exactly what Kevin already tries to forget.

Maybe, if he forgets Benny, he will stop feeling guilty about he treated him. Maybe if they both forget, those will be no need to forgive.


	3. Nina Calls

-Benny's POV-

Benny calls Nina. chatting with her and chuckling fondly at her dissatisfaction with an A-. He's lounging in a chair by his laptop as he scans through the new budget he's mapped out now that he runs his own business and he aches to reach through the phone and pull Nina close.

He enters his base cost for the monthly phone bill, glad he's changed his number so his father can't reach him. Angry texts are something he'll never see again, he hopes.

"How's my dad doing?" Nina inquires conversationally from the other end of the line. Benny's suddenly glad this is a call because he knows he looks sheepish.

"Well, I… we haven't really…" he tries to respond, not finding the right words.

He can practically hear Nina's eye roll in her voice as she exclaims, "Oh my god, don't tell me you two don't talk. You're so _blind_ sometimes! Both of you!"

Benny replies quickly, "He doesn't want to talk to me," his tone defensive. He would love nothing more than to talk to Kevin, but the feeling was obviously not mutual.

"Sure," Nina says deadpan, as though he'd just told her he bought Nike. "I really think you should talk to him. In fact, I refuse to talk to either of you until you melt the ice. You can't just break it; shards are hurtful."

"Wait- no!" Benny scrambles to protest. He could never live without Nina's sunshine.

Nina reassures him, "After this call. Ever feel like you really want to talk to your dad but you don't want to feel like you're showing off? Like you know he'll be proud but you feel like you're surpassing him? Like, _oh, I'm better than you now,_ you know?"

Benny's heart sinks as he thinks about this- he feels the complete _opposite_ every day of his life. He doesn't _at all_ want to talk to his dad, he knows his father hates his lack of accomplishment with a passion and he will never feel like he's surpassing his father. _Oh I'm better than you_ is his father's mantra.

If you can call him that. _Father_ means they believe in you, protect you, love you. His dad does none of these things.

He yells, gets drunk, beats Benny, tells him he's not enough, will never be enough.

 _Be perfect, Benny. Be perfect so I can love you. I'm just trying to love you, why won't you let me love you so you can be perfect. Perfect, like me._

He's never said these things, but Benny knows it's what he always means.

He thinks maybe that's why he's so drawn to Kevin. He hoped for a father figure in him. Needless to say, that was a false hope.

"Hey, you there?" nina's voice jolts Benny back to reality and he blinks quickly, clearing images of the past from his mind.

"Oh, yeah. I've never felt that way, no." he tells her honestly.

Nina seems to find something in his voice, because her tone suggests she senses a tender topic when she follows up with, "Hey, where is your dad? I've never met him. Or your mother, for that matter."

Benny doesn't know what to say because he doesn't want to hide things from Nina and he totally trusts her, but he doesn't exactly want to talk about life one. He wants that to be completely separate from life two. Finally, he responds, "He's not really in touch anymore."

Nina knows better than to ask why not. Nina _understands._ This is why Benny loves her. She doesn't think they'll never talk about it, but she knows Benny needs time.

He'll tell his story piece by piece.

-Kevin's POV-

Later that day, Kevin decides the women in his family are pushing him towards Benny as aggressively as Camila pushes the shopping cart at the grocery store.

Nina's first sentence after she greets him on the phone is, "I just got off the phone with Benny."

Kevin ignores the statement. "How's college, Nina?"

Nina sounds delighted but wishful as she replies, "Better if it was with you." Nina adds, "And Benny. But it's still wonderful."

Kevin will have to adjust to Nina talking so much about Benny. She's gone from keeping him a secret to indiscreetly thinking about Benny all the time. It throws Kevin off because sometimes he felt like he was the only one who knew Benny existed.

"You are holding up alright? With the homework and-"

"Dad, I'm fine. I have more time now that you sold. Thank you." the last two words are softer, and Kevin knows she means them more than anything.

He smiles. "It was worth it. You make me so proud, you know that right?" His family are the only people that he allows himself to be cheesy with, to have a soft spot for.

It is as if Nina senses this because she replies almost self consciously- as though Benny is part of herself- "What about Benny? You're proud of him too, right?"

Kevin wants to groan in exasperation but he settles for an eye roll and a shake of his head because Nina can't see either of these, and she obviously cares about his answer. He doesn't want to hurt or disappoint her, plus he _is_ proud of benny. He is very proud of Benny.

So he takes a step out of his thick shell. "Kind of."

He knows she'll echo him _kind of?_ So he saves himself the embarrassment by correcting himself quickly. "I mean, yeah. I am."

"Does he know that? He seems to be under the impression that you don't… well, that you…" Nina's end of the line goes silent as she searches for the right way to express it.

Kevin waits, wondering what Benny _does_ think. Certainly not that kevin thinks of him as… well as a son.

There, he said it. He doesn't allow himself to more than a couple times a week, and he did yesterday. He hopes if he stops thinking it, it won't be true anymore. But it is. Maybe when Nina and Benny get married kevin can show his soft spot for Benny. After all, he'll be his son-in-law. But Benny, for now, has no idea, or so Kevin hopes. That would be embarrassing.

Nina gives up, and says articulately, " _I_ think _he_ thinks _you_ think he's a piece of shit."

It takes Kevin a second to sort out the sentence, but when he does he cringes. _Oh._ Was he really that harsh? Is he still that harsh?

And even if he is, how can he fix it without people wondering? He can't, not really.

"Maybe you should tell him otherwise." Nina suggests wisely from the silence.

Kevin watches the lamp flicker shadows and bright, yellow tinten spots across the dark room that feels too small and yet so empty without Nina's sunshine. "Maybe." What else is he supposed to say?

He hears Nina's hair tap the speaker as she shakes her head in annoyance. "Uhg, Dad! Don't be so proud!"

This is getting too accurate, too close to home. Nina is too smart. "Just doing what's best for you, honey."

"I don't see how not telling Benny you're proud of him will help me. Ma will tell me when you finally manage to put your pride aside."

Kevin wonders what that means, and if she's already called Camila. Kevin doesn't think she had, so whatever the threat may be, it must be a false one, he figures.

Nina laughs and continues, "Until then, bye!" and hangs up the phone.

A second later, Camila's phone begins to ring from another adjacent room in their powerless household.

Kevin groans as he hears Camila exclaim, "Oh, Nina! How good of you to _finally_ call your mother. Tell me: why am I always last?"


	4. Arrived

-Karl's POV-

"You must take the 'A' train, even farther than northern Manhattan and maintain, get off an 181st and take the escalator- I hope you're writing this down, I'm a cab driver, I don't say things twice." With that, the cap peeled off, making already miss the luxury of a chauffeur.

He was going to rent me a car because my fancy cars were most likely going to get broken into and robbed by the people in this neighborhood. I already felt out of place, every step I took made me recoil with disgust at the rubbish by side of the road, the ghetto feel of the whole place.

I hadn't actually written anything down but someone with an intelligence level like mine, 5 degrees, could remember these simple instructions easily.

Except the accent was kind of hard to sort out.

" _A" train… past Manhattan… 181st…_ I texted these floating pieces of information to my chauffeur, the only aid I'd brought with me.

Then I set off, doing everything I could to avoid any contact with the people I was- so many hispanic faces. I kept my hand on my wallet the whole time on the train, up the escalator, and came up smack in the middle of a dilapidated neighborhood.

 _de la Vega Bodega_ read a patched sign above one of the crappy stores that lined the street, painted with faded reds and painful yellow-oranges that screamed _low class._

A sign that said _Rosario_ something was being painted over, and I restrained the growl that rose in my throat. How could _he_ work at that place? That place looked like a _dump_ even as parts of the sign began to be covered with smooth, urban beige.

A car's horn blared at me from my left, a battered Chevy that looked as old as me. Yikes.

Then this fossil pulled up beside me, rolled down the greasy window and there was a freshly groomed white guy, suit and tie, holding the steering wheel with white gloved hands, his eyes alight with disgust. My chauffeur.

" _This_ is our car?" I sneered with disgust as he opened the door for me, looking resigned.

He dusted his hands and sighed, "It's only for now. Since your valuables are currently in the car, I wouldn't risk a fancier on, sir. Plenty of people here don't even earn enough to own a car. Just by having one we draw attention." A squawk came from the door, injuring my ears.

I sighed too and declared, "The least we can do is get this thing fixed up." I handed him my phone, ordering, "Nearest car mechanic."

He nodded, accepting it and putting it in a safe compartment before pulling out of the spot, which wasn't even a legal parking spot. The red paint was so chipped and faded that it wasn't really valid. In any case, in a neighborhood like this I was pretty much entitled.

Not because I was classist, but like, really. I was.

My chauffeur shifted gears. "I'll get you there, sir."

I had arrived.


	5. That's Rich

-Kevin's POV-

It occurs to Kevin that he's never met Benny's father. Perhaps that's why Benny seemed bent on having Kevin as an honorary one. Now he wonders what Benny's father is like- or was, maybe.

Is he dead? Did he leave Benny?

Even though it's Kevin, not Benny that keeps the two from having a friendship, Kevin's stomach twists in jealousy at the idea of Benny having a dad. Or a father figure that wasn't Kevin himself.

"Fix the damn care up, will you?" a black man demands, sticking his head out the window of a beat up car as it pulls up.

Kevin hates being treated so low down, but he won't lose a customer at the cost of harming his family, so he only inquires politely, "What exactly would you like fixed?"

He despises returning to being a car mechanic, but this guy looks like he could pay a nice buck. He's got on a real nice suit and tie, the kind Kevin used to wear around work but fancier, higher quality than Kevin's seen around in a while.

For that matter, there's a different guy driving the car with another crisp suit. He and his friend look like they could drive a limo each.

And their car's a mess. Good quality for the area, but these two look like a couple of See's Candies filled chocolate bites trying to shove themselves into a Hershey's wrapper.

The car's doors squeak a bit as they step out.

Once again, the black guy speaks. "Paint's hideous, car door is so loud I'll go deaf in minutes, the inside is a mess and the whole thing is dirty. The air conditioning is terribly cold or not on at all, there's no middle ground. That's what I want fixed."

Kevin grits his teeth at the tone the man uses and decides these two are the kind of rich guys he hates- entitled, proud, too good for everyone else.

Thinking about it as he got to work, something nags the back of his mind like a subtle itch- he's heard those words before. He wonders if this is how the neighborhood saw _him_. Is that what Benny thought? Does he still think that?

By the time he's done, the two men are extremely impatient and pointing out endless flaws in Kevin's work, but Kevin just pulls out the payment forms and hands it to the man with the white gloves, who seems more subdued than his friend.

He fills out the forms with a dignified silence as Kevin waits, aware that _his_ silence has less dignity to it. More like he's a waiter. More servitude.

The white man hands the forms to the black man, who signs them with a flourish, lips curling in disgust at something Kevin does not want to hear about. He does not care. Right before signing the last grease smudged paper the man freezes and looks directly at Kevin with a very piercing, very very unfriendly gaze as though seeing him for the first time and not at all liking what he saw.

"Kevin Rosario. That's what is says on the form." Kevin already knows this. He typed up the goddamn forms. "Do you know where I can find Benny?"

Kevin stares, gaping in confusion at the seemingly random question. How did this man know about Benny? Suddenly protective, he shakes his head. "I don't- Benny who?"

The man is either loath to say Benny's last name or doesn't know it, simply saying, "The Benny who used to work for you."

It chills Kevin to the bone the way the man says this, as though he can see the truth on Kevin's face, and it does not bode well for Benny. He tries to stand his ground, thinking of Benny's bravado. "I don't know who you're talking about," is all he manages, painfully aware of how typically this simple sentence of denial is used.

The white man takes a step forward but the black man stops him with a firm word. "Leave it." and hands the papers back. "We won't pay until you tell us."

These two paid a hot dollar for their car to get fixed up, enough to save at least half in their savings account and live off the rest for a couple of days. Ports replaced and fixed, systems fixed and refired, the whole car cleaned. Kevin imagines a day off work, or a step closer to rebuilding his company, or finally being able to be a useful father to Nina.

Then he thinks of young Benny with his light-up-the-world smile, open, honest, proud. His face flashing with hurts as these men stomped all over him. Hurting again as he found out Kevin was the one who told them. Just like the day Kevin took a deep breath and told him the heart wrenching lie that he was nothing like family.

Kevin's heart twists, clashing with his mind in a heated battle as the men look on, waiting with smirks for Benny. The dust settles. A victor remains.

"Don't pay then." Kevin takes the papers and drops them into a bucket of soapy, grimy water by his feet, the streaks of dirt and splotches of oil corrupting the paper, watering the pen marks until the names and signatures are unreadable in the murky depths.

The men look at him, shocked. Kevin knows Benny would do the right thing. It's time Kevin does the right thing. If the places were switched, Benny would get out a paper shredder.

"Go on," Kevin tells them encouragingly, as if he didn't just throw away a couple thousand.

The black man never takes his eyes off Kevin as he walks towards the passenger seat door, agreeing, "Yeah, let's get out of this dump."

The white man dusts off his gloves and opens the door for the other before climbing onto the driver's seat. "Yes sir."

"A black guy with a white _chauffeur_?" Kevin sighs as they drive off. "That's rich."


	6. A Block Away

-Benny's POV-

"You ain't got no skills!" Benny teases, strolling into Usnavi's bodega with a grin.

Usnavi looks up. "Benny!"

Benny winks playfully, starting off their everyday routine. "Yo, lemme get a-"

"Milky way," Usnavi finishes, pulling one out.

"Lemme also get a-"

"Daily News." slides onto the counter.

"And a-"

"Post!" Adds to the pile.

"And most-" Benny stops, habit taking him too far yet again.

Usnavi chuckles, oblivious to Benny's nostalgia. "Ay, you forget you ain't got not boss!" He mimics Benny's entry line.

"'Least I don't have to deal with him being so particular anymore," Benny tries to stay lighthearted as Usnavi rings up his items.

"Yeah. Hey, look out, alright? Black guy around asking for you, looks hella rich." Usnavi mentions casually as Benny passes him a couple of bills.

Benny freezes. There aren't many black guys around the mostly latino neighborhood, and _hella rich_ does not describe Graffiti Pete. He asks anyway. "You mean Pete?"

Usnavi shakes his head. "Tall, older, suit and tie. Got a chauffeur so he's _rich_ rich."

Benny can't move, can't think, feels nothing but panic as he grabs his stuff and tosses it in a bag. "Sonny?"

"Yeah dude?" Sonny wheels around from the slushie machine lazily.

"I need the hat."

"Wha-"

Benny grabs Sonny's baseball cap and crams it on his head before strolling out the door as casually as he can manage.

He walks down the street, wishing he would race as fast as his heart.

Two blocks to go. At the end of this block is Kevin's new car mechanic business. Usually Benny would go around, but this time, getting home is more important. At the end of the next block is Benny's place.

One block to go. Kevin is emptying a bucket of filthy water that seems to have paper in it as a car rounds the corner. Benny doesn't dare look backwards, praying it's not his father. Not many people own cars, but there's always a chance.

The car pulls to a stop. Benny ducks his head lower, still unnoticed by Kevin.

Instead of going straight to his apartment, benny turns the corner, now on the side of Kevin's establishment as he begs the car not to follow him, to keep going straight. At least he's out of sight from the car.

He hears a car door open and shut, almost as loud as his heartbeat as he figures they're pulling up for a fix.

"I already fixed your damn car," he hears Kevin say with contempt in his voice. "I thought you were 'getting out of this dump'"

Footsteps approach. Benny desperately wants to run but he doesn't know where to go and he's frozen. He's barely around the corner.

His heart is pounding so fast, it's running back and forth between him as his place, reminding him how tantalizingly close it is. It just seemed so far away.

Benny knows the distance is too wide.

He turns anyway.

And comes face to face with his father.


	7. Fight

-Benny's POV-

This is nothing like a bar fight. Benny knows this even though he's only been in one because in bar fights the guys are mad, drunk, and bad fighters.

Benny's dad is clearly drunk, he's god the smell on his breath, is wobblier than usual, and his eyes are less focused, less sharp. Benny's dad is definitely mad, he's got anger in his glazed eyes blazing fiercer than Benny's seen them, _ever_ , his fists are clenched tight enough to Squeeze the life out of anyone, and his first words upon seeing his son aren't _said_. They're growled.

"You motherfucking disappointment of a son."

But Benny's father is not a bad fighter. This is what made Benny so ready to leave- his father got drunk and angry often. Too drunk, too angry, and chances were sooner or later Benny would get a lethal beating.

Yes, Benny's richass father has years of private instruction in martial arts. Benny is strong. Benny is a fighter. Benny doesn't usually give up- or at least he hopes this is true.

But Benny knows when it is best to run away. He never thought his dad would find him, as many dreams as he had.

When he was little, Benny got a little training. He doesn't remember much now.

But when his father grabs his wrist, Benny surprises them both by grabbing back, whirling around so they're standing back to back without letting go of his dad's arm, and breaking his father's elbow over his shoulder.

Benny's dad lets go immediately with a feral roar of pain and a string of cusswords he usually considers himself to dignified to utter.

Benny is shocked. He's never fought back like _that_ before, usually only blocking and defensive counterstrikes. He must've changed since running away.

And he's shocked because he had no idea he still had those automatic responses. He was pulled out of instruction years ago after his father realized it would get in the way of beating Benny up.

And he's also shocked because Kevin is standing at the corner, gaping at both of them.

Benny figures he spent too much time being shocked because before he can tell Kevin to _get out_ a fist comes into his jaw and pain explodes in his brain. He tastes the salty tang of blood as the force of the punch shoves him towards the ground and the wall.

Only Benny's well honed reflexes stop him from getting his head slammed into the bumpy wall of chipping paint concrete and even then his arm gets violently scraped as his other stings with a soon-to-be bruise as he blocks the punch that would send him to the wall.

"Get out," he manages to force out at Kevin. If Kevin gets hurt…

Benny know that he can't hold out much longer as his father stamping-kicks his knee and Benny falls to his knees on the concrete.

His father is still yelling at Benny, harsh insults that Benny knows are true.

 _Disappointment, missed a huge education, could've become so rich and had such a bright future, why did you run away goddamnit, fuck you._

Trembling on the ground, protecting his neck and head from blows, Benny realizes with a shiver that if his knee hadn't been bent the way he was taught was correct form, that kick would have broken his knee.

He burns with the shame of knowing that Kevin is probably seeing this. He can't bear the thought of Kevin- who already thinks he's scum- to see him curled up helpless like he is now.

It takes him a second to realize he's no longer getting beaten to a pulp. He jumps to his feet, ready to block a powerful kick, maybe even a jump one, those took time to wind up, or- it couldn't be a flying kick, could it?- and stops in surprise.

Kevin is beating the shit out of his father.

-Kevin's POV-

Kevin wonders what the man is getting out of the car for as he marches right pas Kevin and after a guy walking down the block a little faster than normal. Kevin blinks- Sonny isn't that buff.

Then he realizes it's Benny in Sonny's trademark had. _Oh shit._ Benny was the one they were looking for. In the second it takes him to think this, he's following the man who follows Benny, who rounds the corner.

He hears, "You motherfucking disappointment of a son," in the deepest, angriest voice he has probably ever heard, reminding him far too much of his own father.

 _Father._

 _Fuck_. This guy, this rich black man with the chauffeur is _Benny's dad._ Kevin finally comes around the corner and watches Benny gracefully spin around to break his father's arm as his father grabs him, almost smiling at his father's roar in pain.

Benny catches sight of Kevin as Kevin bristles at Benny's father's remarks- that Benny is a disappointment. Because nothing in the world was ever less true.

"Get out," Benny tells Kevin, and Kevin's heart drops at the fear and _concern_ in his voice, laced with pain. But Kevin doesn't move.

Benny is crying without realizing and Kevin feels a pang in his heart at this even as he feels oddly _proud_ as Benny expertly blocks every punch thrown at him until his father kicks him to the ground and the pride is drowned out by something new.

Rage.

Benny's dad has the nerve to tell Benny he's a disappointment when he's anything but and that he's a terrible son and-

Wait. Benny ran away? He had a family that rich, and education all ready for him and _he ran away?_ For the _barrio_?

Kevin realizes he knows nothing of Benny but that his assumptions were incredibly wrong.

"Fuck you," Benny's dad roars, punctuating a blow to Benny, who's huddled in a ball.

And something in Kevin just snaps.

With strength he didn't even know he had, he grabs Benny's father's shoulder and slams him against the wall. Benny's dad is simply surprised, and then his face morphs into one of disgust- but only for a second because then it's one of pain as Kevin's sloppy punch draws a satisfying crack from his jaw.

He proceeds to duck another punch, knowing from the sharpness and power of the punches that he won't last long. He doesn't care. "Fuck _you,_ " he gasps. Benny has stood up, astonished, behind him.

Kevin knees Benny's dad in the groin and Benny's dad doubles over with a gasp of pain. Kevin shoves him to the ground. "Gentlemen's fighting is for gentlemen," he growls, then steps back in surprise as Benny's dad gracefully rolls to his feet.

"Not you," he growls venomously, shoving Kevin, who stumbles backwards.

"Dad!" Benny's voice comes from behind him.

Kevin attempts several punches and suffers a few before he gets another one in. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Benny's dad sneers.

Kevin just shakes his head. "I could do this all day."

Benny's dad looks surprised as Kevin doesn't back down. Instead, he copies the move he saw earlier from Benny's dad and lets fury drive the kick.

He hears a bone snap. _Hot damn_.

" _Son of a bitch!_ " Benny's dad screams as he falls- gracefully, yes, but the important thing is that he can't get back up.

Kevin backs up and mimes dusting his hands off. "I am but that doesn't mean I am a bitch, it just means my dad was one. The same goes for Benny, I would say."

Benny looks up at Kevin.

His dad speaks. "Benny disgraces the family. Scum like you wouldn't understand. We are rich enough to have a mansion, maids, butlers, servants, to pay for his education all the way to doctorate in advance and he was going to be great and successful. _Look_ at him." He gestures in disgust.

Benny lowers his gaze again, blinking as though he's about to cry more. Kevin grits his teeth. How dare this man make strong, happy Benny _cry?_

"He is. Strong and successful, I mean." Kevin informs Benny's father. In his peripheral vision, he sees Benny's jaw drop. "Anyone with a brain would be proud to have him as a son. I certainly would. I wish Benny is my son every day you ungrateful idiot."

Kevin grabs Benny's dad and starts dragging him unceremoniously towards the car. "He works hard, he's so kind and open hearted, I would be _so_ proud if he was my son. Seeing what an absolute asshole you are, it's your fault and no one else's that he ran away." Kevin throws Benny's dad at his horrified chauffeur. "Get the fuck out, both of you."

The chauffeur drags the spluttering man into the car. "Don't you dare-" he starts, but his chauffeur is already peeling down the street.

Kevin watches them leave until his hears Benny speak.

"Kevin?"


	8. Clean Up

-Benny's POV-

To say that Benny is dumbstruck is a complete understatement. He had never seen his father get _beaten_ in a fight, knee and elbow broken, and bleeding from his lip, nose, and a couple scrapes, his suit ripped and dirty.

And he's _never ever_ heard Kevin speak positively about _Benny_ so _proudly_ and like he _meant it_ so much. He pinches himself quietly, beaming at the pain as Kevin glares after the car that speeds away with Benny's father.

When Benny finally finds his voice, all he can manage to say is, "Kevin?"

Kevin looks as though he's been slapped out of a dream, blinking blandly at Benny, then dropping his eyes.

Benny is astonished: is Kevin _sheepish?_ Of all things!

"Come on," Kevin eventually mutters, gesturing to the rooms by his mechanic workplace. "Let's get cleaned up."

"Yes sir," Benny automatically responds, used to replying to orders from Kevin like this. The habit hasn't faded yet.

Kevin looks back at Benny as he unlocks the door with a jangling set of beat up keys. "Kevin," he insists, "Call me Kevin."

Benny is more than eager to agree.

"Ow," Benny breathes, wincing. He grits his teeth against further complaint as Kevin dabs gently at his scrapes as gently as he can.

"Sorry, sorry." Kevin blurts out quickly, avoiding Benny's eyes like the plague. _Whoa._ Kevin has _never_ apologised to Benny before. Not like this, in a way that suggests they're equals. Benny feels as though he's entered a new world.

He decides to address what is for him the looming elephant in the room. "Kevin?"

"Mmmm."

"Did you mean that? What you said earlier? To my dad?" Benny bites his lip and sucks in his breath as the pain, cursing his mindless habits. He waits for Kevin to respond, his heart racing.

Kevin rubs the back of his neck with a soiled hand, his eyes flickering up to meet Benny's. "I… yeah. Yes. I did. Well, I do. I mean… yeah, I meant them." Benny feels fireworks shaking his existence, light and warmth exploding in him.

Benny can't help blurting, "Really? You- you're proud of me?" like a child begging for praise, and winces as the need in his voice, but he knows Kevin will never tell him that he's proud of him if he's not. Kevin doesn't really do pity.

Kevin looks even more awkward, rolling and unrolling the bandages that he used to wind around Benny's forearm with his hands. "I guess I never really, um, mentioned it?" It comes out as a question and Benny can't resist laughing out loud. Kevin looks reprimanded.

"Can't say that you have, no sir," Benny honestly replies. "Guess it takes a drunk angry father beating my ass to get that confession out of you, huh?" He stands up and pulls Kevin into a hug, Kevin's strong arms returning the hug. Benny notices Kevin's lack of formalities but holds back a friendly punch. Kevin would hate that, and there might be a bruise there under his black tee. "Thank you. For helping me back there. And for yelling at my father like that."

-Kevin's POV-

 _Father_. Kevin feels a surge of jealousy at the word, despite the contempt Benny's tone holds, but it is quickly dispelled. How dare his father say such things, beat him like that, all of it? Does Benny really think this is what a father does? Kevin aches to show Benny what a father is really like- kind, supportive, encouraging, proud.

"Of course," he says instead, "Is he always like that?"

"Drunk, angry, unsatisfied, cruel, entitled…?" Benny fill in with disgust. "Yes, always. I don't understand why he hasn't been fired yet."

Kevin jumps at the opportunity to discover more of Benny's obscure past. "What does he do?"

Benny rolls his eyes skyward and Kevin smiles. Maybe filling the father position won't be too hard. "Some high up manager in software development. Millions a year. Probably even closer to CEO than he was when I last checked."

 _Oh my god._ Kevin has only dreamt of the possibilities of living with so much money. He could send Nina to college, pay her through graduate school and more, he could buy them a bigger home somewhere with reliable electricity and expand his cab company, hire Benny again…

"Why did you work for me?" he inqiures suddenly. "I mean, he's rich enough for you to just play golf all day or some rich life and you run away and settle for being a _cab driver?_ " Kevin's mind is spinning.

Benny winces at Kevin's words and Kevin immediately wants to pull them back.

The door opens up, lighting the room brighter with sunlight than the dim lamps Kevin's lit.

"Oh, mijo, what happened?" Camila exclaims from the doorway as she catches sight of Benny. _Son,_ Kevin thinks. "Come into the house, stay for dinner, there's plenty to eat."

Benny looks back at Kevin. "I'll explain as we eat," he promises.


	9. A Good Life

-Benny's POV-

Kevin is looking at Benny with an expression on interwoven feelings, but the most prominent one Benny can determine is _concern_. Kevin is _concerned_ about Benny. Whoa.

"You gave up _college_?" Camila gapes in wonder. "It must have been _bad_. Sounds a bit like Kevin's father, that son of a bitch."

Kevin looks away when Benny looks at him, reprimanding, " _Camila._ "

Camilla rolls her eyes. "Get over it." She turns to Benny and explains, "My father in law was a farmer. His father was a farmer. He told Kevin he had to be a farmer too. Slapped him whenever Kevin wanted to go farther. Kind of like your father, no?"

Benny looks disbelievingly at her and then at Kevin, who affirms with a sullen nod, his eyes, fixed on a knot in the wood table.

Benny answers Camila without taking her eyes off of Kevin. "Yeah, kind of."

-Kevin's POV-

Kevin knows why Benny says _kind of_ and wants to curl up and swallow his previous words like the spaghetti on his plate.

He should have never said anything about wishing Benny was his son. Benny comes from far greater things than Kevin can ever promise and it is likely that everything Kevin says, does, and aspires to be is petty, juvenile, small, pathetic.

Kevin knows Benny doesn't want a father as low as Kevin, probably wished he never worked for or lived among the people in Washington Heights.

Benny is above them, and Kevin dreads the sting of rejection as much as he awaits it with certainty.

Camila raises an eyebrow at Benny. "Kind of?"

Benny is going to say that Kevin made upwards progress while Benny plummeted to the slums to interact with peasants.

Benny looks down, clearing his throat in a way that sounds… _nervous._ "Kevin is just… you know… better than me. Marrying. Becoming successful. Providing for the family." Camila makes a noise of protest from the back of her throat and Benny hastily amends, "with your help, of course."

Kevin can't help but stare at Benny. _Successful? Better?_ Benny doesn't think Kevin is less than him?

"What about you?" Camila asks for Kevin.

Benny deflates with a self-deprecating laugh like the question stabbed the air out of him. " _Me?_ I haven't really managed anything. No success. No progress. Just, like, survival. The one I want to be my wife likes be back, but…" Benny wrings his napkin in his hands unhappily. The rest of his sentence comes out in a soft murmur-whisper almost, his voice sounding like an old stereo, broken and scratchy. "I can't even win over her father."

Kevin doesn't know what to say. He feels like he's about to cry. This is when he jumps in with some heartfelt and comforting and loving comment, about _no, Kevin isn't better_ , because he isn't. But he can't seem to find the words.

Or maybe he's too scared to say it to his face. Benny has always been the braver one.

Camila, however, doesn't rescue him like she's been doing all dinner. Instead, she just scoots her chair back, screeching against the floor like a fork against a plate. "Budgeting," she excuses herself briskly.

Kevin searches for the words. "Those are ways we _aren't_ alike. So how are our stories similar?"

Benny looks up from his plate, which is now empty. "We both moved up. We both gained something."

"Gained something? You lost opportunities, money, education-" Kevin breaks off as Benny tenses up, his face closing. He moves to stand up.

"You sound just like my father."

The sentence knocks Kevin's breath out of his lungs, but he shakes his head vigorously and finds the air to refute, almost pleadingly, "I don't think you are a disappointment, I… disagree that I'm _better_ than you in any way except that I can keep my opinions to myself." Kevin pauses. Benny doesn't make a move to settle back into his chair, but neither does he move to leave. "Especially on what I think of other people."

For the first time, the corner of Benny's mouth flicker towards the eager smile that Kevin loves.

Kevin tries to explain. "I didn't mean to be harsh. It's a bad habit I- I should fix." He looks back at his plate, embarrassed. Frankly, he's amazed with how much he's already admitted. "I just… don't understand how you feel like this life is _better_."

Benny nods and Kevin sighs with relief at being understood. When Benny doesn't offer any explanation, Kevin opens his mouth to ask.

Benny speaks before he can figure out the words. "You think… I went from being rich, pampered, and educated to poor, alone, and uneducated." He looks to Kevin for confirmation and Kevin nods. "Well… there's more to life." Benny shrugs. Kevin waits for him to elaborate, a confused half smile fixed on his face. Benny returns to his seat.

"My father was… of the same minds. He thought, you know, education was all I needed so I could be perfect or whatever. Then I could get a good job, et cetera, et cetera." Kevin watches Benny duck his head and toy with his napkin as he speaks.

Benny is an open book, and it is clear as clean water that Benny is nervous explaining his scars to Kevin.

Kevin regrets more than anything else that his anxiety is justified. Kevin knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that if their places were switched, Kevin wouldn't open up to Benny at all, not even a damn crack. Benny is unconsciously twisting the knife of guilt in Kevin's already stabbed stomach.

Eventually, Benny drops the napkin, gently squaring his shoulders so subtly Kevin barely notices. "The thing is, my life was never going to be perfect, not with Dad in it."

The fact of the matter is that Benny is a better, more wholesome person. He just is, and Kevin doesn't see much of himself in Benny, instead he sees what he _wants_ to be. But this sentiment is one he can relate to. To escape his father's plans for him was something he _had_ to do. He just had to, because his father was hurting him, holding him down.

He meets Benny's eyes over the plastic cup of water that he averted his eyes to when Benny looked up. "He hit you." it was a statement, solid as a brick and heavy as metal, but it hung in the air as though weightless.

"How much did you see, before you stepped in?" One of Benny's eyebrows is raised halfway as though apprehensive, but before Kevin can answer, he blurts out- as Benny is wont to- "Thank you, but the way. Again. I know I already thanked you…"

Kevin just sighs, trying not to glow with the knowledge that he's closer to earning Benny's admiration. He can feel in Benny's gaze that Benny feels _protected_. That's what a father does, he protects. "Not at all. It shouldn't have taken your… kin to make me say it." Unsure where to step now that that road has been traversed more than it needs to be, Kevin adds, "I saw pretty much the whole thing."

Benny, bless him, says nothing about Kevin's first statement and instead continues, "He beat me like that regularly… he's a drunk and gets mad easily… bad combo. I think that some people are so focused on their life they don't live it."

Benny glances at Kevin fleetingly- a question. Kevin understands, or he thinks he does anyway.

"I didn't want to be that way, care so much about, like, the official stuff, right? My dad didn't and he turned out to be a lonely prick."

Kevin is irrationally gleeful and disproportionately happy to hear Benny so blatantly insult his biological father. Maybe this means he has room for a new one.

Benny had been slouching, just a little, reflecting with his eyes tilted up towards the dark, cracked ceiling, though his gaze occasionally redirected itself to Kevin, who quickly eyed the red solo cup in front of him. Now he sat up, an indication of attentiveness. He faced Kevin and explained, "I realized that I had to choose, you know, between a good life or a… prosperous one. The people around here are what make a good life."

Kevin only nods. He has always aimed for a prosperous life, and it strikes him like turning on a dimmer light- not in an instant but with a slow rise to brightness- that though he always looked down on Benny and dismissed him as young and impulsive, Benny has made more mature decisions than he should ever have had to.

With a glowing smile, unrestrained as though Benny has shed the sober mood like a piece of clothing, Benny adds, "People like you are what make it so great."


	10. Father and Son

-Benny's POV-

Benny watches Kevin's expression go from attentive to regretful to understanding, but when benny tells him he's what makes his life so great, Kevin's face rearranges itself into a portrait of happiness and confusion.

To be frank, Benny doesn't quite understand why this is. After all, Kevin is amazing, and for as long as Benny has known him, Kevin has seemed to know it.

Shaking his head as though to clear the confusion from his face, Benny asks bluntly, "What?"

Kevin shoots a surprised look at the cup in front of him but when he replies, he meets Benny's eyes briefly. "I don't deserve that."

Benny's eyebrows draw together and Kevin raises an eyebrow as though expecting Benny to realize he's being ridiculous. "What have I given you other than a crappy job?"

Benny squashes the exasperation that's probably written as clearly on his face as fresh ink. "Oh my god- OK, so first of all, that job was not crappy. It was fun and it gave me a sense of… uh, family?" Benny rushes on before Kevin can object, shoot him down, _again,_ already regretting saying it. "And second of all, _hope_. You gave me hope. Inspired me. You are prosperous and good and live that way."

-Kevin's POV-

Kevin just blinks. Not because he's crying. Not at all. Then he wipes his eyes. Not because he's crying.

Benny clears his throat. "You're crying."

Kevin shakes his head vigorously, feeling tears slide down his face softly. "You're amazing too, I hope you know that Benny…"

Benny doesn't blink or cry. He just stares. "I…" he looks utterly lost and the revelation is like lightning- he's never heard this from his father. He actually doesn't know that.

A pang flashes through his body. It hurts to know that Benny has never know how much he means, how much he is. For Benny to never even be told that he was worth something…

Well. Kevin is going to change that.

-Benny's POV-

Benny doesn't know what to say. He's never heard someone tell him this and he doesn't really know how to respond.

He responds to Nina by kissing her, saying what he doesn't have words for with his lips, with his hands, with his eyes.

Kevin doesn't wait for a response, though he gives a pause. Instead, he extends his arms and Benny gratefully accepts the hug, though more than surprised that it's been offered.

"I guess I don't tell you enough. Or ever." Kevin admits, his voice ridden with guilt

It's true, but Benny doesn't want to be salty about it, so he only replies honestly, "Well, I know now."

Kevin's relieved chuckle seems to lighten the lamp lit room. He steps back and seems to weigh his words. "Do you consider him a father?"

Benny looks quickly at Kevin only to catch a carefully crafted emotionless mask. Kevin stares at the flickering flame of the lamp as though it is the greasy gears of a car in action. It doesn't matter though. Benny knows who Kevin's talking about. Anyone would.

What he doesn't know is the answer to his question. He lets the silence sit in the room like a heavy, thick cloud because silence is the best way to represent how he feels. He doesn't know and it doesn't matter because he can't choose anyway so he sits and accepts that like it or not, this is his father.

Kevin draws a breath, an action that is like holding a glass ball over a high height, and Benny waits for it to fall.

"He's not." Kevin declares decisively, punctuated by a loud exhalation. "He's a bitch and you deserve better. You shouldn't. Consider him a father, I mean."

Benny shrugs. Talking about family with the man he so desperately wishes is his father is confusing. "It's not like I can change him."

"You can change… who you honor with the title _father_. Someone who deserves it. Not like that asshole."

"You." Benny blurts out, the words tripping over his tongue and out of his mouth before he can rein them in and chastise them for being nothing but dreams.

He's been staring the flame too, and the flickering shadows and spots that move through the room. Now he ducks his head and stares at the floor. A speedy apology and a disclaimer are centimeters from flying off his suddenly dry tongue when Kevin speaks up.

"Me?" It's a murmur. A whisper. Utterly a question. But instead of mocking or confused, it's simply unmasked yearning. Or, at least, that's what Benny hears. He prays that his mind isn't softening Kevin's tone because Benny wants it to be soft. It probably is though.

Eventually, he musters the courage, feeding his flame of bravery with memories of Kevin's rare smile, his hugs and kindness today, his proud and earnest words.

Two words for two years of wishing. "Would you?"

They hang in the air for seconds before Kevin responds.

"I would be honored."

To say that Benny never _imagined_ this would be a lie of horrific proportions, but it's safe to say that he never _thought_ it would happen.

He never accounted for how he would feel either, and he can't tell past the euphoria of happiness until Kevin's warm fingers are brushing away his tears and Benny's arms find their way around Kevin, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

"Father," he tries out, the words feeling like a new one in his mouth. In a way it is, because it means so much more than a genetic formality. It means love and hope and solidarity.

"Son," Kevin sounds like he's new to the word too, because it is probably new for him too. Not it means care and worth and strength.

But most importantly to both of them, it means family.

~Finshed~


End file.
